Monthly Archives: April 2015

I live in Clinton Township Michigan. My husband and I are looking to replace all of our upstairs carpet. The carpet to be replaced includes a hall, a stair case with 12 stairs, and four upper bedrooms.

Last week I stopped into a local family owned carpet store to look at a carpet that I had seen in a family member’s home. The carpet was made by Mohawk and is made from 75% Smartstrand and 25% P.E.T. Polyester.

Tonight we had an in-home estimate from a well-known shop-at- home company. The salesman brought out some plush style carpets that he stated were great for high traffic areas. He showed us a 60 oz weight, and a 50 oz weight carpet samples. I asked him if in fact that they carried “Smartstrand” and he said yes however that it was a special order carpet. He went on to say that the sample that I had from the local dealer was only about a 30 oz face weight and would mat down over time. He instead suggested that his Shaw plush style was a much better choice for the stairs and hall. He quoted us $3,750 to do the hall/stairs and the four bedrooms. I had received a quote of $4,036 from the local family owned carpet store with the 30 oz face weight carpet.

Both offered 8 lb padding. The shop-at- home company offered padding without the moisture barrier, they have it but he did not believe that we needed it (because it is just me and my husband in the home), but the local dealer offered padding with the moisture barrier.

I came across your site after going online to look at some other local carpet stores to see what they may have to offer. I guess I would like an expert such as you to weigh in or give some advice as to why the local carpet store would only offer us a 30 oz face weight and give a quote of $4000 dollars and the shop-at- home carpet company quote $3,750.00 with w 60 oz face weight. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Cathy

Hi Cathy,

Thanks for your carpet questions! I have to make some assumptions with the limited information you gave me, so this email is my best “guesstimate” response for you.

It sounds like you had Empire Today out tonight to show you some polyester carpet samples. I never recommend buying carpet from Empire, and I don’t recommend you buy a carpet made of PET or Polyester fibers unless you want it to last for less than 7 years. Those are the absolute worst fibers, no matter what they tell you. Neither of two carpets you mentioned can handle medium to heavy foot traffic regardless of their 50 or 60-ounce face-weights. Fiber type, Tuft twist and pile density are way more important factors to consider than is a higher face-weight. You need to consider all the carpet specifications to know if the carpet is durable enough to handle your application and last as long as you anticipate. (See attached carpet durability chart)

A carpet made of Nylon is always the best choice for stairs and hallways and other heavy foot-traffic areas. Smartstrand, P.E.T. or Polyester fibers do not perform as well on stairs and hallways as they tend to mat down quickly in medium to heavy foot traffic applications. If your home has low foot-traffic, then a Smartstrand (Triexta) fiber might work well for you, but it should still have good specifications, hopefully more than 30-ounce face-weight and good pile-density rating (see attached carpet durability chart)

Best Padding Choice

You don’t really need a moisture barrier padding, so why pay extra for it. A good quality Rebond type pad, 7/16”, 8-pound density will do the job just fine. Learn more about moisture barrier padding and other specialty padding types.